His speech shows the shape of the referendum fight to come – fear of being alone versus optimism about Britain’s place in the world.
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. One of the two biggest political stories today, the summit to consider the next European budget, is opaque. We cannot know what is happening behind closed doors. However, we can know what Tory MPs have made of the other big political story today: the Government's attempt to deal with […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter I haven't a clue whether there is more to the story of Danny Nightingale, the SAS Sergeant who "was sentenced to 18 months by court martial after an illegal Glock pistol given to him by grateful Iraqis was found in his belongings", than meets the eye. But I know […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. 7pm update: Labour will support Andrew Tyrie's chairmanship of a joint parliamentary committee holding an inquiry into the banking industry. Ed Balls told the House after losing tonight's vote (below): "The Government has won its vote. The chair of the Treasury Select Committee will now chair a narrow inquiry… On […]
By Jonathan Isaby In advance of yesterday's debate on votes for prisoners, the man moving the motion, David Davis, made his case on ConHome here. So below are some of the highlights from the contributions of other Conservatives during the debate. NB A full breakdown of how all MPs voted is here. South West Devon […]
Conservative MPs lined up yesterday to oppose Labour's plans for a £80m referendum on introducing the Alternative Vote system for electing the House of Commons. Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve led for the Conservatives. Richard Shepherd on how AV elects the least objectionable candidates: "I know that the Prime Minister has abolished boom and bust, […]
As promised by Eleanor Laing last week, the Conservatives have tabled an amendment to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill which would Save General Election Night by setting in statute a requirement for Returning Officers to count votes at general elections on the night. It proposes that counts could only be delayed if there are […]
The Sunday Times reports this morning that the Conservatives want to stop the Government from ousting the remaining ninety hereditary peers from the House of Lords – which seems nothing more than a naked attempt to reduce the Tories' strength in the Upper House yet further, rather than being part of a concerted attempt to […]
There were questions to Justice ministers yesterday. These are the highlights. Bromsgrove MP Julie Kirkbride raised the thorny issue of the state funding of political parties: "Does the Secretary of State agree that there is a huge conundrum when it comes to party political funding? The public want democracy, but it is expensive. They do […]
MPs have a choice: amend the blanket ban or defy the European Court of Human Rights. A constitutional show-down is almost inevitable.